This study of social-cognitive development and adolescent maternal behavior explores the validity of Newberger's parental awareness model which outlines stages in the structure of parents' conceptions of children and the parent role. The model explains deficits in the quality of adolescent mother-child interaction. Parental awareness increases with age in children and separates abusive mothers from matched controls. This study tests two previously untested hypotheses: that, among adolescent mothers, parental awareness relates positively to mother's age and to the quality of mother-child interaction. Also tested is the hypothesis that subject's responses cluster at a single stage or two adjacent stages, indicating the stages to be structured wholes. The population to be sampled consists of the 75% black, low SES, mothers referred to an urban program for pregnant adolescents. Volunteers with first-borns from 10-18 months will be sought. Equal numbers of mothers for each year of maternal age from 15-20 will be recruited for a total sample of 102 subjects. An Ethnic Issues Advisory Committee will review the study protocol. During two home visits subjects will receive Newberger's Parental Concepts Interview and be observed in interaction with their child in structured situations. Observations will be rated and quantified after each situation and in summary. Receptive vocabulary (PPVT) will be tested to estimate relative verbal ability. The interview will be scored with Newberger's manual and interaction data reduced via factor analysis. General linear modeling will allow testing the age and maternal behavior hypotheses while controlling confounders such as race, PPVT, and social status. The percentage of interview responses clustering at one stage or adjacent stages will determine structured wholeness. Ultimately, validation of this model can contribute to understanding of how to promote adolescent parenting behavior and a more healthy environment for the development of the children of adolescent parents.